Compare/Contrast Cinderella Essay

Compare/Contrast Cinderella Essay “The Walt Disney Company is a powerful economic and cultural phenomenon known throughout the United States and the world as a provider of family entertainment (Maltin, 1, 308). Its media and entertainment holdings establish it as a central communicator in contemporary life. As such, it provides many of the first narratives children use to learn about the world” (Ward, 1). Disney has always been family oriented making it one of the main attractions of reading something Disney. They always have an innocent feeling to their stories, which makes it more appealing for children. But in Vietnamese fairytales a family oriented story may be somewhat gory or violent. “The stories from Vietnam tell us about their culture, their beliefs, and their determination throughout time” (Ly, 1). The 1950 version of “Cinderella”, written by Walter Disney and adapted by Campbell Grant, has some differences and similarities to the Vietnamese “Tam and Cam”, by Vo Van Thang and Jim Larsen. They differ in their violent content in their stories but similarly have a great deal of magic included and also both have prevalent characters to help them find their way.

Being a Disney tale “Cinderella” was not a very violent story. “Our analysis of morality in entertainment is limited and stylized at present. Violence in the media is a major concern, and we research it relentlessly. But our treatments are typically moralistic and academically superficial” (Christians, foreward). In Disney it is “moral” to not use violence and it is also what is culturally acceptable. In Vietnam it is culturally significant to present the violence how it is and it is told to children in this same way. “The stories came about as a means of escaping their everyday lives and a way to live out their dream worlds” (Ly, 1). Tam was the good sister and Cam was the evil stepsister who took orders from her evil stepmother. Tam finally had one last chance to get back at them both for the

Cited: Disney, Walter E. Cinderella. Walt Disney 's Cinderella. Comp. Campbell Grant. N.p.: n.p., 1950. 516-517 Ly, Hugh H. Vietnamese Children 's Stories. 17 July 2003. Pacific University. 1 Apr. 2005 Van Thang, Vo. Jim Larson. Tam and Cam. Tam and Cam (Vietnam). N.p.: n.p., 1993. 228-233 Ward, Annalee R. Clifford G. Christians. Mouse Morality: The Rhetoric of Disney Animated Film. Austin, TX: University Of Texas P, 2002